Gecko 6er build

[Llama Llama]

Honestly its not bad to cut, the problem comes in when its tome to sand!  That fricken dust gets everywhere!

I used a router bit to round the edges, then went over it by hand.  It is far from finished, I just wanted to post some progress pics.

Thanks again for the comments!

 

[baskruit]

I used a router bit to round the edges, then went over it by hand.  It is far from finished, I just wanted to post some progress pics.

Thanks. That's what I had planned for my body.
Keep the progress pics coming!

 

[DangerousR6]

Not much progress, but I did finish cutting most of the shape with a jigsaw and started shaping the body.

That is fricking badass..... :icon_thumright:

 

[Llama Llama]

Thanks!

 

[kdownes]

I dig the shape -- reminds me a bit of Fibenare guitars: http://www.destroyallguitars.com/fibenare.  I've been planning to try building my own stuff from scratch, too.  If you'd be willing to share it would be great to hear some details about your process (how'd you do the design, did you work from a book, what tools have you found to be essential, etc).  Keep posting them pics!!

 

[Llama Llama]

I modled the bass in Autodesk Inventor.  It is a 3d cad system.  I had the drawing printed out full size to make my template.  This gave me the basic layout out the bass.  I traced the template out on the wood, then just cut it out using a jig saw.  I layed the neck on the body and moved it around until I was happy with where it was, then I traced a line and routed out the bulk in three passes being careful not to go too deep.  I used some chisels and files to smooth out the neck pocket.  I used an oscillating sander with its largest drum to smooth out the edges enough to give me the shape, and a surface for the router bits bearing to ride on.  I routed the edges using my largest round over bit. 

That is where I am so far  :icon_smile:  If anyone would like clarification on any process please let me know, I would be more than happy to help out in any way that I can.

Below is an image of the Inventor screen I did a few months ago.

 

[kdownes]

Awesome -- thanks for this info!  Two questions come to mind now: first, how thick is your zebrawood?  Looking at random jig saw specs it looks like most of them do OK with soft woods up to 1 1/2 inches thick, but Warmoth's body blanks (for example) are 1 3/4 -- does that extra 1/4 not make much difference?  Also, it looks from the photos like you did multiple passes with the jig saw -- is that correct?  Sorry for the noob questions (and if no one else on this thread is interested in this stuff) but I've never used a jig saw, and it's looking like it could be the most important tool for this kind of work if you don't have space for a bandsaw, etc.

Nice car, by the way.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Cagey]

If you want to see what's involved with building a guitar/bass from scratch and exactly how it's done, you might enjoy Ron Kirn's tutorial. Goes from raw blocks of wood to finished playable instrument. It's very well done and highly educational, with tons of pictures. He also does some unusual bits, like flush-cutting and insetting the neck plate and jack plate, which is very attractive but can't be done on production guitars for reasons he makes clear in the tutorial. What's more, he sells the things quite reasonably. Recommended reading.

 

[Llama Llama]

Awesome -- thanks for this info!  Two questions come to mind now: first, how thick is your zebrawood?  Looking at random jig saw specs it looks like most of them do OK with soft woods up to 1 1/2 inches thick, but Warmoth's body blanks (for example) are 1 3/4 -- does that extra 1/4 not make much difference?  Also, it looks from the photos like you did multiple passes with the jig saw -- is that correct?  Sorry for the noob questions (and if no one else on this thread is interested in this stuff) but I've never used a jig saw, and it's looking like it could be the most important tool for this kind of work if you don't have space for a bandsaw, etc.

Nice car, by the way.   :icon_biggrin:

The zebra wood was about 2" thick when I started cutting it.  It is now around 1 7/8" or so...  I like big heave basses, so this one sure fits the bill!  I used a 60$ craftsman jigsaw with the stock blade in it.  I did take many passes, jigsaw blades (and bandsaw blades) do not like tight curves.  So you have to make clearance for the blade to pass without binding.  If I had the money, I would have a nice bandsaw.  It would make life alot easier!  Cutting with the jigsaw requires you to support the workpiece and the saw, the bandsaw lets you simply push the workpiece through the blade while resting on the flat bed of the saw.  Much more precise, and less cleanup would be required.

I hope that I answered your question well enough. 

 

[kdownes]

This is super helpful -- thanks a lot.  I'd love to have a bandsaw, too, but space and money mean a jig saw is more likely in my future, at least at my home shop.  I can definitely appreciate how much easier a bandsaw would make things, though.  And thanks for the link, Cagey!

 

[Llama Llama]

Just make sure that your jigsaw blade is long enough to cut through the material  :icon_smile:  You should be ok with anything less than 1 7/8ths.

 

[baskruit]

I did take many passes, jigsaw blades (and bandsaw blades) do not like tight curves.   

Ain't that the truth. I almost ruined my build because the blade tends to bend inwards when you're trying to cut a curve. It cut away more wood than I anticipated but I lucked out.